The NCTA and the cable industry have gone from “relentless government assault” to seemingly bottomless regulatory deconstruction in just 21 months. With this probably in mind, the cable industry lobbying org has extended the contract of CEO and President Michael Powell for three more years. Powell is a former FCC chairman, a Bill Clinton appointee, who joined the NCTA in 2011.
Game On For Broadcast: Auction, Repack, 3.0
A new era of broadcasting gets underway next Tuesday when the FCC opens the reverse bidding for broadcast spectrum. But the auction is just the first of the tectonic forces that will reshape the medium. Close behind are the repack and the possibility of a new, more capable broadcast standard. How it all adds up is anybody’s guess.
Powell: Cable Under Regulatory Assault
Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and currently head of the cable industry’s biggest lobbying group, is frustrated. Cable companies have been “increasingly saddled with heavy rules without any compelling evidence of harm to consumers or competitors,” he said at NCTA’s trade show last week in Boston. Here, he talks about the issues facing the cable industry and offers his candid views on the FCC, as well as his thoughts on the presidential campaign.
NCTA President-CEO Michael Powell, in the opening INTX keynote in Boston, lauded the cable industry’s shift into “high gear” in innovation and change during a “transformative period,” but held fast to his view that Washington regulators are stifling that progress through dramatic policy changes.
Start Selling Washington On ATSC 3.0 Now
Technical progress on creating the next-gen broadcast TV standard, ATSC 3.0, is moving forward. Unfortunately, that progress doesn’t seem to be matched by movement on the policy and regulatory fronts. Lawmakers and regulators have to be convinced that ATSC 3.0 is in the best interest of the American public so that they will aid broadcasters in implementing it. That’s a tall order, which is why the NAB and other proponents have to get started immediately.
Association chiefs from broadcasting, cable and consumer electronics will be featured in a “Tune In to the Future” panel on May 14 at the 2015 ATSC Broadcast TV Conference in Washington.
Exclusives
Cable Convenes Under Cloud Of Uncertainty
Michael Powell leads the NCTA as it holds its annual convention, but he will be hard pressed to present a unified front.
Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and now the cable industry’s top lobbyist, warned that if the cost of sports programming continues to rise it could lead to government intervention.
The NCTA CEO and former FCC chairman denies speculation that he’s considering running for mayor of Washington.
If Wednesday night’s Washington reception for former FCC Chairman and now National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell was any indication, he will have a respectful and attentive commission audience for his advocacy for the cable industry.
The former FCC chairman succeeds Kyle McSlarrow as head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association beginning April 25.
One source said former FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s succession of Kyle McSlarrow as president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association is “likely,” while another said it could be down to deal points. Powell is now chairman of the MKPowell Group and a senior adviser to Providence Equity Partners.
